I'm not a fan of the blank spaces either. As I was looking at the 2017 Doctor Who Signature Series Autographs, I noticed that commons are listed as $6.00 to $15.00, so I'm thinking that the blank spaces is to differentiate those cards from the unlisted commons. But for the 2016 products, you'd think that there would be some market information to have some listings filled by now.

A suggestion I'd like to propose is keeping The Hot List, but make it BIGGER! Go up to anywhere between 25 to 50 cards and maybe add a Market Report.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Heroes For Hire,

With the last few issues of NSU, I feel that NSU has surpassed the other Beckett price guides of the 4 major sports and is among of the top magazines that Beckett is printing nowadays (along with Vintage Collector, and those Star Wars specials). It had seemed like the input from the members here (and possibly elsewhere) were being taken in consideration.

Then I read in the Dec 2017/Jan 2018 issue that the suggestions about expanding the Hot List will be incorporated in the first issue of 2018 (broken down into 4 separate list: autographs, sketch cards/artists, overall products, and highlighted individual products). That reminded me of some early 2000's Beckett Hot Lists, but I couldn't find any of my old issues to do some comparing and contrasting. Then I saw a post over in the BO forums and someone posted an example that I was thinking of:

https://www.blowoutforums.com/...thread.php?t=1177762

[QUOTE=TheVolta;13100089] IMG_20160310_0001
IMG_20160310_0002[/QUOTE]

Is this about how the new expanded Hot List will look like?

The new hot lists will be better. The new NSU just went to print on Friday so everyone will get to see the finished product in a couple weeks. I'm still kicking around even more ideas related to the hot lists, price guide, etc. This is only the beginning. And, it has all been made possible by the suggestions and requests we get. So, keep them coming!

I would agree that NSU is looking pretty good these days.

Something else that has improved is the Beckett Non-Sport Almanac in the 2017 3rd Edition. I finally opened my copy from Xmas and surprise, you can read it. The font has been greatly enlarged compared to the earlier editions. I haven't nit picked through it yet and maybe some more stuff had to be removed, but it's worth it because you are not going to read what is too small to see.

Also it seems as though there are fewer spots where prices are left blank. That's also an improvement, blank spaces don't tell anybody anything.

I would have three general suggestions.

1. Someone should think about reclassifying what is called the modern non-sport card. According to the Almanac sections, the small vintage card section is for 1980 and earlier cards. Modern is anything after 1980 that doesn't fall into the sections reserved for specific titles. This may be as per the hobby, but I have long thought that it has to be revised. Non-Sport cards and the premium hits have changed so much just in the last few years that they bear little resemblance to what was released even in the 90's. I think the modern card has to be brought up to date and should apply to a shorter period of time, maybe only for releases in this century.

2. For those titles that have been running over many years, it is still hard to locate certain releases and the way they are captioned off can be confusing. I would prefer a strictly chronological listing, so that a James Bond product as an example made in 2016 is not followed by one made in 1996-1997, followed by one made in 2006, followed by one made in 2002, followed by one made in 2010, and so on. The years just skip around all over the place. Also the card manufacturers are not indicated, which makes a difference when licenses have changed hand, but a lot of space does go into separating sub-sets of smaller values. So some of the secondary headings seem unnecessary to me.

3. I'm not sure why Funko is a section in a card almanac. I do see them for sale at my LHS and retail stores, but have no interest in them myself. Are these the new equivalent to Beanie Babies? Do non-sport card collectors really also buy Funkos? No idea, but I would leave them out.

Just some quick suggestions to be considered, but overall it seems like a much improved supplement for non-sport card information.

Also just noticed that the whole Wrestling card section has been removed. They have always been iffy, but at least the argument could be made that they are more entertainment cards than sport cards. More card collectors probably have a few Wrestling cards tucked away, as opposed to Funkos. Not saying they should be in because of space restrictions, just saying its a better argument.

Although I'm a tad bit disappointed not having wrestling cards in the Non-Sport Almanac, but it just follows NSU not having it either so I'm not too surprised by it.

As for Funko Pop! figures, those things seem like they are everywhere and super popular with even fringe collectors. Unlike Beanie Babies, Funko Pop! figures have more of a pop culture connection and tie-in with non-sport card titles so seeing their inclusion seems to be relevant. Also, for years Beckett had been listing Starting Up and othe sport figures in their sport card magazine so maybe that's why it doesn't seem out of place to me to have Funko's included.

Yeah it all depends on what you like. I am more surprised by the inclusion of Funko listings in a Non-Sport Card Almanac than I am opposed to it. I never hear them mentioned on card forums I read and didn't know that they even had a strong collectibles market. They just look like cheap toys to me and they all have a Katie Cook design vibe. Fine if you like it.

I'm really out of the action figure line unless you are talking about the super realistic ones like Sideshow/Hot Toys and of course the larger resin models of various characters. I do have a great appreciation for the ones that look really nice as a display, but they are not toys and they are not cheap.

To give an example of wrestling's trading card popularity compared to other Topps trading cards sold through on-demand Topps Now (these type of cards sell for $9.99 for one card and slightly less when buying in quantity).

The 4 most Topps Now on-demand WWE trading cards order in 2017 were: 288 (Bayley), 264 (Alexa Bliss), 223 (Goldberg), and 223 (Alexa Bliss). The last group of cards that were sold in 2017 for the Pay-Pre-View event Clash of Champions ranged between 33 and 65 cards.

In baseball, the last 7 offseason card offerings in December 2017 were: 2836 (Stanton to Yankees), 17,323 (Ohtani to Angels), 158 (Ozuna to Cardinals), 148 (Kinsler to Angels), 136 (Piscotty to A's), 196 (Arroyo to Rays), and 215 (Longoria to Giants).
To give context, the Ohtani card was the most ordered card in the 2 years that Topps Now has been doing these cards. The last 2 cards of 2017 Rookie-of-the-Year Aaron Judge sold: 2,707 and 1,821. His highest amount sold were: 8997, 8623, and 8538.

For more of a non-sport trading card on-demand comparison:

Doctor Who:
The Thirteeth Doctor - 1,400

Preacher Season 2:
The range is 54 for Episode 11 to 82 for Episode 3

Star Wars: Countdown to Episode 8:
Fathier Stable Keeper - 474
C-3PO - 560
Finn - 502
Captain Phasma - 494
Fathiers of Canto Bight - 506
Resistance Prepares for Battle - 477
Canto Bight Police Take To The Air - 489
General Hux - 479
Chewbacca - 664
Jump To Lightspeed - 598
General Ematt - 496
BB-8 - 640

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Heroes For Hire,

I don't collect wrestling cards but they've been included in the non-sport realm for as long as I can remember so they should be included in the almanac and NSU. If Beckett is covering them extensively in another one of its publications, I might understand excluding them from NSU. It's just that wrestling is at least as much entertainment (choreographed stunts and theatrical showmanship) as a sport and a lot of non-sport collectors seem to have at least some wrestling cards for that reason.

I don't know what Funko is but it sounds like something I'm against including in the guide.

I don't necessarily collector the Funko figures, (although I have a few), but I do recognize and acknowledge that there is a big collector base for them. I see them at comic shops, comic conventions, card shows, Walmart, Target, Wallgreen's, Hot Topic, Toys R Us, and even at a cell phone store. They are something people are collecting. Not sure which other of Beckett's publications that it would fit best in.

Found this about them ...
https://www.forbes.com/sites/d...ompany/#3ba744fd2e4d

Beckett does have some wrestling pricing in the Beckett Sports Card Monthly, but I don't recall seeing wrestling listed in NSU for years.

This is great feedback, everyone. The Funko price guide will most likely remain in the almanac because they are the hottest collectible on the planet.

However, the wrestling question intrigues me. Would a wrestling annual price guide be something of interest? I've looked and I've only seen one other full wrestling price guide.

Yes, I would appreciate a wrestling price guide in my life
It would be cool to see some of the Japanese cards in there and maybe a few articles on such things as Topps WCW/nWo autographs, Leaf autos, and Jakks Pacific WWF figures. But please don't forget to include Topps Now prices

As a stand alone annual it would be a good resource, especially if wrestling cards are not being covered anywhere else.

Most of the wrestling cards and autographs that I have are several years old now. The last personal signing I went to was for Roddy Piper, a really fun guy, may he RIP. I used to know the current stars, but I don't anymore. I think the WWE has fallen well off its peak for the general public. So that is something to consider before going all in with wrestling, but an annual to test the demand shouldn't hurt.

It might be cutting it too close to put together, but "Wrestlemania Special Edition" price guide for $9.99 would probably do well on the newsstands as the Road to Wrestlemania progresses. Not sure how a digital only edition would do, but if it was only about $4.99 that might be okay to test the waters.

Since it would on the fly, utilizing some of the existing Beckett News articles with updates for some of features while making sure to have a focus on a couple of thIs year's WWE Hall of Fame inductees such as Goldberg and current hot trading card WWE Superstar Alexa Bliss might suffice. To make sure that it has mainstream appeal probably should have something on John Cena and his pursuit of Ric Flair's Heavyweight Champion record in there. Maybe touch upon the NXT, 205, and the rise of the Women's division, too. Can't hurt to have The Rock and Ronda Rousey involvement in past Wrestlemainas in there, too

Incorporating some of the WWE partners for in magazine advertising such as Topps for trading cards and Mattel and Funko for figures with a feature on the latest releases could be include. Have you seen The New Day's Booty-O cereal box for their Mattel figures? The box is so classic that looks like it's from RAW or Smackdown Live show. Maybe have some of the exclusive stores such as Target and Walmart for trading cards and Barnes & Noble, Hot Topic, and Toys R Us for figures as advertisers also.

Of course, there has to be some price guide stuff in there, too

I personally do not think wrestling should be covered, but I can sit on the fence and value others opinions. I would prefer there be a 'lesser sport' guide that covered thinks like wrestling, tennis (some fantastic releases there), soccer, and whatnot. I realize that seems American-centric since soccer is huge outside US and maybe Canada, but you get the point.

Funkos? Yeah, they don't belong either. I can value a publication trying to expand and cover new areas, but we used to have Toy Fair and other more relevant magazines for those sorts of things. I miss Toy Fair.

So there, there's two more magazine ideas.

quote:

Originally posted by weasel-king:

Funkos? Yeah, they don't belong either. I can value a publication trying to expand and cover new areas, but we used to have Toy Fair and other more relevant magazines for those sorts of things. I miss Toy Fair.

So there, there's two more magazine ideas.

Great idea, I used to buy Toy Fair too.

I'm not really buying Funkos as the hottest collectible on the planet. They are cheap vinyl toys with license rights.

I can see picking up a favorite character or two for fun, but as a collectible they rank right up there with Beanie Babies, also once the hottest collectibles on the planet. BBs had their own magazine and their own Club at one time. Just take a look at the BB market now.

To lump Funkos in with non-sport cards is not right, but a broader Toy Fair type coverage or collectible figures guide would make sense.

Saw this on Twitter. It's not quite NSU, but it's what used to be Beckett Radio and now goes by the "Fat Packs" podcast. They are looking for some "super collectors" to interview. We have a lot of awesome collectors in the Non-Sports side of collecting ... if you know someone, nominate them!

This link might work, if not look up FatPacksPodcast on Twitter ...
https://twitter.com/fatpackspo...Kit.activity.Message

I liked in Aug/Sept 2018 issue's "New & Noteworthy" had listed some card shows with large percentage of non-sport cards for sale.

This thread seems to be kind of underutilized, judging by the lack of recent entries, so I'll bump it up.

As regards the brand new NSU October/November 2018 issue, the Stranger Things cover is very striking and pretty iconic by now.

I also really liked the 2 page spread on the Top 10 Game of Thrones Autograph Signers. It has a picture of all 10 signers chosen on at least one of their autograph cards and a brief write up on each one. As they are all the principal actors, you probably can't argue with the picks.

I continue to like the Hot List pages as it points out and shows cards and products of interest, along with key sales.

Now for what I don't like . . .

I have not run through the Price Guide, but guys, the font is getting small and light again. I know there are space issues, but it can't be annoying to read.

The regular columns seem to have been dropped to just a couple per issue. Again a matter of space and possibly rotation. There is no Editorial in this issue either.

Which brings me to my most important comment/question. Why are there so many full and half pages dedicated to article pictures that do little for the article. There is a 6 page spread on the title story about Stranger Things cards. The actual writing for this entire article could fit on one page. Pages #12 and #13 are taken up by a full page photo that simply repeats the NSU cover photo. Additional articles have pictures on page #18, pages #22 and #23, and pages #30 and #31 that could all be reduced or eliminated entirely. If the pictures are important to the story or to show cards it would be great, but most of these add little, if anything. So as a matter of space, I would suggest that full page pictures should be removed altogether and half page or larger photos should be used only if they really compliment the article so that more space is available to increase content and/or enlarge the Price Guide.

Thanks for reading.